Circular Economy Conference: From Frameworks to Practice - a research-based Action Lab accelerating Australia's circular economy transition

CERN APAC's Annual Conference in 2026 explores the theme "From Frameworks to Practice — a research-based Action Lab accelerating Australia's circular economy transition".

Australia has built a strong strategic foundation for the circular economy, with national and jurisdictional frameworks now setting a clear direction for change. The next challenge is implementation. Progress has been uneven, and significant barriers remain around policy coherence, market signals, research and development, technology adoption, measurement, and coordination across sectors.

This conference is designed to help close that gap. Rather than revisiting broad aspirations, the program will focus on practical insights, grounded in research evidence, that can support real progress in Australia's circular economy transition.

The conference adopts a plenary-based format to foster a shared conversation across researchers, government, industry, and other stakeholders. By avoiding fragmentation across parallel sessions, the program is designed to build common understanding and encourage sustained engagement throughout the day. Each plenary is organised around a common set of questions: Where are the opportunities? What does the evidence tell us? What gaps remain? And what are the next steps?

A central aim of the conference is to strengthen dialogue between research, policy, and practice. The opening session invites government and first nations representatives to reflect on what they need from the research community. Subsequent sessions showcase what circular economy research is already revealing about effective transition pathways, practical interventions and emerging opportunities. This dialogue-based approach is intended to improve the policy relevance, uptake, and impact of circular economy research. The program focuses on three major system lenses: policy, governance and education, technological material systems, and biological material systems. These reflects CERN APAC's research strengths and nationally identified priorities. The technological material systems session will focus on the built environment, mobility and consumer goods, with attention to closing material loops and scaling circular solutions. The biological material systems session will focus on food, fibre, water and living systems, exploring the potential of regenerative strategies to restore ecological function and create new value from biological resources.

Digital research posters will provide further opportunities to showcase work across CERN APAC's research streams, including emerging research, early-career contributions and interdisciplinary collaborations.

The conference concludes with an Action Lab synthesis, bringing together insights from across the program to identify concrete actions for researchers, government, and industry. The intention is that participants leave not only with new connections and ideas, but with greater clarity where research effort, collaboration and investment can most effectively accelerate Australia's circular economy transition.

Pricing

• Earlybird full registration

  Closes 15 August 2026

  $120

• Earlybird student registration

  Closes 15 August 2026

  $60

• Full registration

  From 16 August 2026

  $150

• Student registration

  From 16 August 2026

  $75

Dates and Times

Contact

Natasha Porter

More information

Above and top header: Image of a bronze sculpture titled "Reclaimed Spirit" by Sasha Reid

Participants: Researchers, government, industry, practitioners

Format: Plenary-focused with panels, facilitated dialogue, debate, research showcases, networking

Mode: In person

Important information:

• This is an in-person event, and there are no virtual presentations or streamed sessions.
• One registration form must be submitted per person attending.
• Note: This event is limited to 150 registrants due to the Conference Venue capacity.

Date and time:

• Thursday 26th November, 2026
• 9.00am to 6.00pm AEDT

Venue:

• CSIRO Discovery Theatre, Black Mountain Science and Innovation Precinct, North-Science Road, Acton ACT 2601
• Please note: There is very limited parking on site, so best to walk / bike / use shared transport where possible.

Pricing and Inclusions:

• All prices are in Australian dollars (AU$) and are inclusive of 10% goods and services tax (GST).
• Registration includes catering and a post conference networking session with refreshments.

Earlybird Pricing – closes 15 August 2026
      Student registration: $60 (inc. GST)
      Full registration: $120 (inc. GST)

Regular Pricing – closes 15 November
      Student registration: $75 (inc. GST)
      Full registration: $150 (inc. GST)

Accommodation in Canberra

• There are plenty of accommodation options in Canberra via your favourite booking platforms. Some options include Avenue Hotel, Mantra on Northbourne Canberra, Ovolo Nishi Hotel Canberra, QT Canberra, Peppers Gallery Hotel Canberra
• These are all approximately 2km from the conference venue.

Important dates:

• Conference Registrations - Opens 15 June, Closes 15 November.
• Digital Poster-Abstract Submissions - Early bird (closes 15 August), final (closes 15 October)
• Final Digital Poster File Submissions - Closes 30 October.

Additional Information:

• Please let us know if you need access to a parent room or prayer room.

For more information contact Natasha.Porter@csiro.au

Conference committee:

Ayon Chakraborty (Federation University), Colleen MacMillan (CSIRO; Conference Co-Chair), Himanshu Shee (Victoria University), Malindu Sandanayake (RMIT), Martin Geissdoerfer (Monash University; Conference Co-Chair), Mohsin Malik (Swinburne University), Monique Retamal (UTS), Natasha Porter (CSIRO), Reba Paul (UTS), Roberto Chavez (Swinburne University), Saniyat Islam (RMIT), Usha Iyer-Raniga (RMIT)

For more information on CERN APAC please visit Circular Economy Research Network Asia-Pacific